Genesis of the Academy
In early 1966 top OU administrators contacted renowned director John Fernald, Head of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. They wanted to establish a professional resident company on campus and at the same time open an Academy of Dramatic Art (ADA).
Like the Meadow Brook School of Music, which relied on artists from the Meadow Brook Music Festival to offer quality instruction to students, the ADA would give students a unique opportunity to learn from profession.
Fernald accepted OU’s offer and in July 1966, the professional theater company -- Meadow Brook Theatre -- was officially launched, with the first season starting in January 1967.
The Academy of Dramatic Art opened in the fall of the same year under the direction of Fernald. While plans for a new performing arts building - the future Varner Hall - started, the ADA found temporary quarters in the lower level of the Sports and Recreation building.
In fall 1967 the Academy enrolled 13 students. 10 more were enrolled in the winter semester, and 9 more in the spring.
The ADA greatly benefited from Fernald’s worldwide reputation. He used his extensive network to reach out to actors, directors and other theatre professionals.
In this letter Fernald invites his friend Rosemary Harris, a well-known English actress, asking her to be a judge for the auditions recruiting students. Harris had just won a Tony Award for her performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine in A Lion in Winter on Broadway in 1966. She and her husband had created their own producing company, Association of Producing Artist.
From 1967 to 1977, when the program was discontinued, the Academy of Dramatic Art graduated 116 students and produced 52 plays.